News Article

It is well known that cancer and cardiovascular disease share risk factors and there is some evidence that statins reduce cancer mortality. Using 10 year follow up data from more than 2000 participants of the community based Framingham Heart Study Dr. Hoffmann and team determined that individuals meeting criteria for statin therapy according to the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association statin eligibility criteria were 10 times more likely to die from cancer. This finding was independent of any individual causative risk factor such as body mass index, age, or smoking status. These findings underline the role of intrinsic factors favoring general disease propagation in individuals and at the same time document a unique opportunity to improve population health through application of a simple risk score across diseases.